The Portland Trail Blazers have made it loud and clear that they could only trade Damian Lillard at the right price. That has ruled out the Miami Heat of the equation, as much as Lillard is keen on playing for them.
Multiple teams could put together a solid offer to get him. However, Lillard’s agent has reportedly reached out to all teams interested in him to tell them that he’s not going to be happy anywhere else.
With that in mind, NBA insider Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald reports that the word around the league is that the Blazers don’t intend to trade him at all right now.
Blazers Don’t Want To Trade Lillard
“Someone even told me — and I thought this was interesting, but I don’t even know if I buy it 100% — but someone that has knowledge of what’s going on is convinced that Portland doesn’t even want to trade Damian Lillard at this point,” Chiang said on the Heat Check podcast.
“It almost feels like they’re trying to find a way to change his mind or delay this where Damian will say ‘Well, I’ll just be part of this,‘” the insider added.
This is a risky gamble, as Lillard’s trade value could drop by the day if this situation drags into the season. Also, with Scoot Henderson there, it might not be in their best interest to keep Lillard there as well.